I sail an Elan 7.7 folding trimaran which is twelve years old. It has trampolines which are used for moving about the boat. Their integrity is important for safety reasons. The tramps are not easy to remove and stay on the boat when it is stored.

About four years ago, there were some tears on the edges. I took them off. I asked the sail person if there were any thread particularly resistant to UV and other damage. I was told no so the job was done with what I guess is regular sail thread.

Well now four years later, that thread is rotted and the tramps need sewing again. They are in good shape but for the thread.

Tenara is the cat's meow for long lasting UV exposure, none better against UV than this stuff. Its expensive and a PITA to set up the sewing machine tensions correctly to handle it … but sure beats having to resew. The correct needle size for the sewing machine when using Tenara is important.

If they had used Tenara, they would not have degraded like that in just 4 years. My guess is that they used the bog standard V92 polyester thread, as that is what is usually used for sail and canvas repairs and they did not want to bother setting the machine up for Tenara for your repair.

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak!.

If they had used Tenara, they would not have degraded like that in just 4 years. My guess is that they used the bog standard V92 polyester thread, as that is what is usually used for sail and canvas repairs and they did not want to bother setting the machine up for Tenara for your repair.

Just mt two cents worth.

ATB

Michael

I tend to agree. Tenara is the same teflon that is used to coat top of the line house siding, and that's guaranteed to last 25 years.
Difficult to sew however, but I'm sure you can Google Tenara and get information on how to sew.
dick

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak!.

I called a North Sails loft this morning. I asked about Tenara and they had never heard of it. They say they use a product Hemingway & Bartlett Dabond 2000 UVR Polyester Thread and Needles
Unlike Tenara I can't find any references as to how long the product might last.

By default, polyester is not as UV stable as teflon / ptfe no matter what you impregnate it with. For your application, I would use Tenara and not go through any experiments with anything else. If you can't sew the tramps yourself, buy the Tenara and give it to the people to use on your tramps.
Dabond is just your normal UV stabilized thread used for sails. Its the stuff I use for most canvas work as it is easy to work with and cheaper then Tenara. I am pretty sure that your sails are sewn with the same stuff.

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak!.

I recommend it highly, and would suggest you think about going with the M1000H heavy duty stuff, it's awesome...

As others mention, it does take a while to dial in your machine to get it right, easing the bobbin tension was the final adjustment that got it right, for me...

The M1000H is a much different thread construction, and is particularly prone to twisting... In an effort to alleviate this, it's recommended that you mount the thread cone horizontally - like a roll of toilet paper - instead of pulling it vertically from the cone, as is normal... I found this to make a noticeable difference...

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